Jaden Rashada shocks college football world with NIL lawsuit against Florida coach
Athens, Georgia - The Georgia-Florida football feud just intensified, and this time, NIL (Name, Image, Likeness) is at the heart of the drama.
In a shocking twist that has rocked the college football world, former top recruit Jaden Rashada has decided to transfer to Georgia this offseason – a move that has sure caught the attention of Gainesville.
But it's his latest bombshell that's set to ignite a firestorm among Gators fans.
Rashada is suing Florida head coach Billy Napier, staffer Marcus Castro-Walker, and a prominent Gators booster for fraud, according to CBS' John Talty.
The allegations are explosive: the lawsuit claims that Rashada was lured to commit to and attend Florida with the promise of a staggering $13 million NIL deal – a deal that reportedly was never meant to be honored.
Why is Jaden Rashada suing Billy Napier and Marcus Castro-Walker?
The lawsuit accuses the defendants of orchestrating and executing a fraudulent scheme, alleging they "substantially and knowingly assisted by one another in carrying out the fraud."
The suit also suggests that this deceitful plan hinged on their mutual cooperation.
In a jaw-dropping revelation, Rashada's legal action also points to Castro-Walker's pivotal role in convincing him to turn down a multimillion lucrative NIL offer and commitment from Miami.
This profound sense of betrayal and the subsequent collapse of the promised deal has driven Rashada to seek justice in the courts, dramatically intensifying the already fierce Georgia-Florida rivalry.
"Jaden's miserable experience reveals, in stark and dramatic detail, what can happen to young student-athletes when wealthy, win-at-all-cost alumni insert themselves into college football's recruiting process," the lawsuit says.
Rashada is currently being represented by famed Houston lawyer Rusty Hardin, who also represented NFL's Deshaun Watson and Adrian Peterson, MLB's Roger Clemens, and other athletes.
Cover photo: Collage: James Gilbert / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / Getty Images via AFP